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Tuesday, June 11, 2013

I haven't done newsy bits in some time, and when a friend told me he heard the Ruby Room was closing, I decided I'd just wait to hear from Sean and Brittni, since I've gotten in trouble for prematurely opening my mouth. Today, that announcement came down the pipe:

For Immediate Release

Tuesday June 11, 2013

Thank you, San Diego. Ruby Room Closing Its Doors and Starting New Project

After 5 years, 1500+ shows, 19 parking lot festivals, 3 CityFests, countless art shows, numerous charity events, and several friends and drinks later, The Ruby Room will be closing its doors and changing ownership the week of June 11, 2013. Due to creative and directional differences, operators and half-owners Sean and Brittni Cute are selling their shares of the Hillcrest music venue to their business partner, and taking the name with them. “This isn’t goodbye,” Sean Cute states, “This is reincarnation. The body is still there, but the soul of The Ruby Room is moving on to take new form”.

The Cutes have already starting shopping for new locations for their next project in the San Diego area. “Live music and art is who we are, and you will be sure to find a bigger and better version of this with our new project. The talent in San Diego is vast and we feel so fortunate to be a part of it,” says Brittni.

The Cutes would like to personally thank the community of San Diego, the fabulous neighborhood of Hillcrest, the Hillcrest Business Association, all the artists, musicians, non-profits, promoters, patrons, journalists, friends, neighbors, and staff that have passed through the doors of The Ruby Room. “It takes involvement from everyone to make a creative project of this magnitude happen. This has been an extremely exciting chapter in our life,” adds Sean.

Sean Cute will also be stepping down as Secretary of the Hillcrest Business Association, although he plans to re-join following the opening of the new location. Sean says of Hillcrest: “Giving back to the community that I was a part of even before we opened The Ruby Room is a high priority. Our neighborhood is definitely something special.”

Although owners Sean and Brittni Cute have left, The Ruby Room name will change by mid-July. The new concept will be led by their former business partner, with less of an art and music orientation, and more focus on being a local tavern.

Artists themselves, the Cutes do have a few side projects cooking in the summer months. Sean is currently working on a self-penned book about the experience and exploits of owning a rock venue titled “What The Hell Do I Know”. Brittni will be giving her abstract photography career a resurgence, which has spanned New York, LA, London, and Milan.

In other news, you've all read and heard by now that Peter Holslin has stepped down as music editor of San Diego CityBeat. (In case you missed it, David Rolland wrote a nice bit about it here.) I just wanted to add that San Diego: Dialed In has always appreciated all of the great pieces Peter has written and we have been inspired by San Diego CityBeat through the years, and we look forward to working alongside Jeff Terich covering this great music scene.

In little news, the Black Cat recently got an upgraded license. I believe the new license allows them to have one mic, though I've already seen bands like Trailduster and others in the location. I would venture to guess you might see karaoke or some of the quieter bands on the scene who will really only bring positive traffic to the neighborhood. (Black Cat is in City Heights, at University between 42nd and Van Dyke, just east of the 15.) Keep an eye out in our listings for shows. I'll post them whenever I can find them.

There were other things I meant to tell you...like 4th&B is supposedly going to reopen...but right now the building looks like shit so I'll believe it when I see it. (CityBeat posted the story at the beginning of May). There's other stuff I'm supposed to tell you, like Adams Avenue submissions can be sent in to the Adams Avenue Business Association and that San Diego Music Thing has started to announce acts, but I'll give you full posts on those when I have more time.